Ulf Henricsson
| Ulf Henricsson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Ulf Hugo Henricsson |
| Nickname(s) | "Sheriff of Vareš" |
| Born | 1 February 1942 |
| Service/branch | Swedish Army |
| Years of service | 1969–2002 |
| Rank | Brigadier (Överste 1.gr) |
| Commands held |
Södermanland Brigade (1994–95) East Army Division (1994–2000) |
| Other work | Head of SLMM |
Ulf Hugo Henricsson (born 1 February 1942) is a former Swedish officer. He is best known for his achievements in the Bosnian War as commander of the peacekeeping operations from September 1993 to April 1994. There he commanded the Nordic battalion (Nordbat 2) which was a part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR).
Henricsson became an officer in the Swedish Army in 1969 and worked as general staff officer for six years. He was then promoted to battalion commander. Henricsson worked with the Swedish tank programme for several years before being promoted to brigade commander in 1991.
During September 1993 to April 1994 he served as commanding officer of the Nordic battalion (Nordbat 2), part of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR), which consisted of the first Swedish battalion (BA01) to be deployed in Yugoslavia during the Bosnian War. The battalion consisted of 840 soldiers in three mechanized infantry companies and one staff and tross company. Together with a Danish tank company (DANSQN) and a Norwegian field hospital (NORMEDCOY), it formed the battalion Nordbat 2. The battalion headquarters was in Živinice outside Tuzla. Its area of responsibility started north in the Posavina corridor 10 kilometres south of Brčko, to some 10 kilometres south of Vareš in central Bosnia.
Henricsson and his soldiers became known for redrawing the rules of international peacekeeping by aggressively protecting civilians, tactics not popular among U.N. officials. His robust approach impressed his UNPROFOR commander Michael Rose, the press corps, his Danish colleagues in Nordbat 2 and the local parties. At home, his robust approach did not go down well with the traditionalists, who accused the Swedish contingent of being trigger-happy and too aggressive. The result on the ground proved the critics wrong, however, and Henricsson's approach was eventually codified in the Swedish peace support operations doctrine published in 1997.
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